Project 365 - Day 52 - That's it ... I'm grillin something

Today on the way home from work I stopped at the grocery store to pick up some vegetables for dinner.  There was some good stuff out today, and I saw a bag of those little sweet peppers.  So, I decided to build dinner around those peppers.

I also picked up some mini potatoes and a couple of steaks.  Yep, it's official.  It's grilling time!  I did do a bit of grilling in December, but the BBQ has pretty much been idle for the past couple of months.

I pulled off the cover today and cleaned it out.  Then I started the grill and basked in it's warmly goodness.

Today's shot is from the grill.  Now, you should know that by the time the food went on the grill it was pretty dark outside.  So this shot was done basically in pitch black.

30 second shutter, f/6.3 and ISO is actually at 1600.  24-70 mm lens at 55 mm.  Slight crop in lightroom.

Project 365 - Day 51 - Aren't you glad ...

So, I tried my hand at a little bit of abstract photography today.  It's not a bad start, but it does need some work.  Anyone guess what today's shot is?

I took the bananas off their hook and placed them on their side.  I couldn't get a good shot of them all as a bunch that didn't look like a photo of bananas - something you might see in a grocery store flyer or something.  I wasn't happy with it, and it's not the first time I have tried to shoot bananas.  Something I learned in Banff from one of the instructors was when the shot isn't working, get in closer.  So I did.

60mm macro lens (again) and up nice and close.  Off camera flash.  f/40 at 10 seconds.   ISO is 400 since I have the tripod anyway.

Oh yeah, I also turned it to greyscale.  I tried bumping the colours around, but it turns out that Mother Nature got this one right.  The brown and black spots contrast very nicely with the yellow banana.

Here's the shot:

 

Okay spring, any time now ... I want to shoot bugs and flowers and buds on trees and birds ...  :-)

Project 365 - Day 50 - Tulips again ...

One of the great things about tulips is how long they last.  They opened up nicely the day after I bought them from Sonia.  Now they are starting to droop and are wide open.  What better opportunity to shoot straight into them?

Today, I lit the tulip from above using the kitchen light, and then put a speedlight right under the blossom to light from below as well.  You can see the light on one of the petals on the right hand size.  That spot, although it looks blown out, is just very very bright ... :-)

f/13 on this one and a 4 second shutter to get right down the throat of the flower, to bring the stamen into focus.  A tweak of contrast to bring out more detail in the tip of the stamen and a touch less exposure.  No crop, no saturation adjust.

Here's the shot:

Project 365 - Day 49 - Another walk in the park

Today I went to a different part of Oakville.  There is this giant metal wheel on Speers road just south of the Oakville GO station that I have always wanted to shoot.  Today was the perfect time to do it, there was no traffic and the GO station was empty - lots of parking available.

I got a couple of good shots of the wheel, but none worthy to post here today.  I am still planning that shoot.  There was too much snow and ice around to get a good clean shot.

So I went for a walk down the heritage trail, a trail that is closed for the season.  This is an incline of about 20 deg or so, and apparently it is almost all ice.  I slipped a couple of times, but nothing too major - I didn't fall or anything.

I saw a couple of birds, one of which is the elusive Cardinal.  I call this Cardinal elusive as I have not yet been able to get a good clear shot of this guy.  There is one in my neighbourhood that likes to greet me when I get home, but then flies away at my first movement.  He even goes as far as perching on an old tree stump in our front garden - creating the perfect composition - before flying off.  I really need to learn how to make friends with this guy.  His colour is awesome, and he's a beautiful bird.

So I followed this particular cardinal around for a bit today, but he alwasys put trees or bushes between us.  He had what I assume was his mate with him, and they were happily chirping away as they would flit from branch to branch, maximizing the distractions between us.  So finally I gave up and he flew away.

I did, however, get this shot.  I don't know what this flower is, but in the winter it leaves this husk that looks kind of like a bee hive.  The sharp edges create a contrast to the white fluffy snow behind. 

Here's today's shot.

Project 365 - Day 48 - It's cold out there ....

So, it's -12 deg celcius, and that's before the wind chill - what better day to go back down to Coronation park in Oakville?

When I returned from my shoot yesterday, Sonia took a look at my photos and lamented that some of them would benefit from a clear sky.  One in particular was the shot of the tree.  Although it was a good shot, it could be better - or possibly different.  So off we went, on what could have been the coldest day of the year, back down to Coronation park. ( I actually asked Sonia why we don't go to this park when it's warm outside)...

First things first, I recreated my shot from yesterday.  Blue sky, cool tree, it's a very nice shot.  So now I have options for what I am going to do with the four seasons photo with that tree.  But that's not the main reason why we were there today...

It was a completely different park today, the water was rougher so there weren't as many birds floating around.  No geese and no swans.  I got out my 18-270 Tamron lens and shot some ducks at 270mm.  But now, looking at those shots on the computer screen, they just aren't sharp.  It's not motion blur, but it's a general softness to the shot.  Not impressed with this lens...

So, I put the 24-70 back on and shot some of the ice on rocks and tires and stuff.  Got some good shots.  The weather was not as cold yesterday as it was today, so the ice pics that I got yesterday were not what I was going for.  Today was a different story.

Today's shot is of a rock that is just at water's edge.  This rock was clear of ice yesterday, but today it has some significant ice collection on it.  You can tell it has started to melt, but over night this thing is going to get covered.

I was lying on the rocky, icy beach to get this shot.  The sun is coming down behind me, it's 3:30 in the afternoon, but the sun is already low in the sky.  Shot at 70mm, 1/2500 sec shutter and f/4.5.  ISO is 400, and could have been lower still.

Here's the shot.

Project 365 - Day 47 - The tree in coronation park - part 1

So there is this tree.  It's in Coronation park in Oakville.  I love this tree, it has a lot of character. I have a plan to capture it in every season.  Should be interesting.

So when Sonia kicked me out of the house with my camera this afternoon to go and shoot, I decided to get some shots of Coronation park.  There are a lot of birds and squirrels and people around this park most of the time, so I thought it would make for some good shots.  When I first got there, I set up the shot of the tree.  I think it turned out great!  The sky is bland, and just a flat white, but I bumped up the contrast to draw more attention to the tree.  I also reduced the clarity a bit.

I took a shot of my settings on the camera and lens, so that when I go out in the spring I will have a reference.  What's that you say?  Just record the metadata from the shot in lightroom and bring it with you? Well, that's a very good idea, but it requires organization - something I usually lack.  I always have my phone with me... :-)

Here's the shot.  I took a lot of other shots today, and I will be posting on facebook as well.

ISO 400 f/4.5 and 1/250.  On a tripod.  34mm focal length with my 24-70 mm lens. 

When I get all four shots, I will be cropping more of the bottom of the shot out.  I just cropped this to 4X5 to make it easy to post.  I want the shots to be the exact same focal length, angle and depth of field, hence the tripod.  I took a shot of where the tripod was positioned, so it should be easy to recreate.

Project 365 - Day 46 - A nickel for your thoughts

So, the penny is done.  It's not gone by any means - we'll always find them lurking in our ashtrays in the car, or deep in the couch cushions.  But we won't be getting any new ones for some time.  Which makes me think - will the old saying "penny for your thoughts" change to something else?  Will the next generation wonder what a penny is?  Will we all have the same difficulty trying to describe the penny like we do with such foreign terms as an Album or Floppy Disk? 

But then there is our parent's generation.  Those who thought that plastic Windex bottles were a new and bold idea (my mother had a story about her first plastic windex bottle, and trying to show her friend how indestructible it was).

I guess change is inevitable, even if it means we won't have any more change... ;-)

Here's today's shot...